It is difficult to imagine how is it being in Chiranjeevi's shoes. The flip side of all the endearing adulation that he enjoys is that people expect nothing less than a hit every time he comes out with a movie. It is a tall order. It is like expecting Sachin Tendulkar to score a century every innings.
But to the credit of Chiranjeevi, he delivers almost always. Like he has in Jai Chiranjeeva. It is a film that is out and out his. Be it action, be it comedy, be it emotion, the great man doesn't miss a trick in the book. And what emerges eventually is a hardy commercial entertainer that has something for every kind of viewer.
Director K Vijaya Bhaskar, the smart veteran that he is, has done the best thing. He has given full way to Chiru's undoubted talents and resplendent skills. Chiru has done it all, and shines especially in comedy sequences. His timing is something that, well going back to Tendulkar analogy, only the master blaster with a bat in his hand could match. Chiru has the audiences rolling in the aisles with lovable capers and funny one-liners. Of course, in serious and emotional sequences, Chiru just plays it straight from the heart. His versatility so amazing that sometimes you wonder what makes him tick.
Jai Chiranjeeva has all the elements that Chiru's fans look for. And then there is some more to. It is a simple story. Vijaya Bhaskar, who knows a thing or two about hits (having delivered over five in a row), has chosen an uncomplicated story. And he has also carefully kept the script clean and clutter free.This works. Fantastically, at that.
The story is in a sense about a rite of passage, one that brings the strong-willed man out from inside an innocent villager. Satyanarayana Murthy (Chiranjeevi) leads a happy and contended life in his village. But fate suddenly throws up some unexpected twist in his life. He is very much attached to his niece who is killed in the city. Satyanarayana Murthy is crest fallen, but his intuition tells him that there is more than what it meets the eye in her death.
So he zips off to the city. His hunch is proved right. There is an inside script to her death. Satyanarayana, a god-fearing man,wants to get into the depth of it all. The unraveling takes him to many places. He is in the process helped by an equally good-natured Neelima(Bhumika Chawla). There is some well-concealed suspense and that helps to maintain the interest all through. Thrown into this all is are the frisky comedy involving Sunil, Brahmanandma, Venu Madhav and others.They all join together to bring the house down.
But it is Chiru's show all the way. As we said right at the start, this is his film and he leads from the lead. The way he delivers the dialogues, the cultivated in souciance, the spontaneous wit and the ebullience and elan in dancing all have the fans drooling with delight. Quite simply, any amount of Chiru will not suffice ----like Oliver Twist you will still ask for more. His show in Jai Chiranjeva shows why he is one of the best performers in the country.
Bhumika Chawla is the ideal foil to his energetic performance. She has come up with understated show that shines in the light of the heavy-weighted effort from Chiru. Sameera Reddy on the other hand is all glitz and glamour. She has understood her simple role and added polish and panache to it. The girl sure has plenty of attitude. Among the baddies, Arbaz Khan is powerful. Jaya Prakash Reddy is also more than adequate.
The director's effort in choosing topical ideas and characters to suit them is certainly commendable. The comedy whipped by Sunil and Brahmanandam is note worthy for its simplicity. The USA scenes involving the latter are indeed note worthy. Even Tanikella Bharani has you turning your lips up in happy smile.
The film's other maj
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